Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Review #128: White Album - Demo (EP) (2009)

It's been awhile since I've written a new review... well, I'd been having some "problems" last week... Anyways, here iz yet another good band beginning with the word "White"... kinda like how there's a lot of good bands with the word "Black" in their names. Well, this iz a special little review, because this iz the second review of a local band I've ever done! That's, right, they're from fucking Ohio. I have not seen them live, but I would really like to. I don't even know what their show dates are. But anyways, I don't even know if they've released anything or if these tracks are a part of some ultra-obscure unknown LP that they've made, but for now, I just call it a fucking demo.

This music is GOOD. One of the best new things I've heard in awhile; it ranks up there with bands like Grrrl Friend in terms of being actually fun to listen to and originality. At some points I feel like I'm listening to a psychedelic version of Flipper. The music is very analog and warm-sounding, so there's none of that ear-fatigue shit you get with a lot of new music. Anyways, time to listen to the songs...

1. Patriot DamesThis is a sort of fast song. The bass guitar is very prominent, almost like slap-bass or something like that. The lead singer has a sort of deadpan-but-super-cool singing voice. I'm still loving this great bassline. Then after the second chorus there's a neat solo. There's always that layer of total chaos going on in the other ear, as well.

2. Simple Food and DrinkDefinitely the best song by this group that I've ever heard. The song starts with a brief, quiet guitar melody which is abruptly stopped by a new bass riff and the drum beat. The rhythm guitar comes in, making a really beautiful, airy noise which sounds really fucking great. Turns out the melody in the very beginning of the second was a fragment of the verse riff. Now we hear the verse, which is happier-sounding and more upbeat. The vocals are kind of muffled by the rest of the instruments, but that adds to the effect. The chorus section is slightly more noisy and aggressive than the verse. After two verses and choruses, the song returns to the melody in the earlier part of the song, with a complete anarchy of guitar solos, and the tempo is faster this time. Then back to the verse and chorus and shit like that. What a song.

3. Bad ControlStarts with a few quiet clippets of various people (probably band members) talking. LOUUD FEEDBACK NOIZES... then we get an ultra-catchy bass guitar riff guiding the melody while the rhythm guitar also carries a melody but it's much more abrasive. The singer sounds a little like Kurt Cobain, here. The bass is fucking great in all parts. I really wish there was a way to download or get an album with these songs on it. 'nother guitar solo in the middle. The cymbals constantly crash.

So, that's "White Album". All of these songs can be heard from their MySpace. There is one other song on there called "Diabetes", but it is a boom-box demo rather than a studio demo, so I decided not to include it. I usually don't do a "top 3" for releases with less than six songs, but if I had to put these songs in order from favorite to least favorite regarding this, I would say it goes: Simple Food and Drink, Bad Control, Patriot Dames. But damn, this really is a good band. I listen to this music and a part of my mind has a little trouble believing that this was all made in the same state that I live in. "California" is always the first thing that comes to mind when I hear this music. But nope. Ohio. So yeah, go check out their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/sewerwave) and give them support and maybe try to pester them to play more shows and record more shit that we can listen to. And that they need to play all-ages venues so I can come too. Yeah. Well, thanks for reading my review, and may the force be with you. Always.